Skip to main content

Workers smelled gas before an explosion leveled a North Carolina KFC

A suspected gas explosion destroyed a KFC restaurant in North Carolina early Thursday morning. There were no injuries.

A manager told police he and others smelled gas as he was closing the restaurant in Eden, just south of the Virginia border, CNN affiliate WGHP reported.

The manager called the gas company and tried to shut off the nozzle before the explosion.

“We’ve actually searched the building and no one is inside the building, which is great,” Eden Police Chief Greg Light told WGHP.

The blast was felt 2 miles away and damaged almost all of the neighboring buildings, police said. The exact cause of the blast is uncertain, but a gas company plans to check the pressure in the gas line.

Winners: WTOP’s 2020 TOP 10 Contest

The votes are in for the best restaurants in the D.C. area serving your sweet tooth, your salty cravings and whatever else whets your appetite. Readers and listeners voted for their favorites in WTOP's TOP 10 contest. See if your local favorite made the list. This year is a bit different than the other years the TOP 10 contest has been done, and WTOP wanted to recognize the local businesses and essential work employees have been doing to keep everyone safe and customers fed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read Next Story